The Way Things Are
by justrandomiguess
Summary: Nat and Nate were once the best of friends,but kids grow up and grow apart. Now its senior year of high school and they fall back into eachothers lives. Will their old friendship return or will they realize that they're two very different people.
1. Chapter 1

Nathan Fox couldn't remember when he and Natalie Madison first became friends. It wasn't when he moved next door to her at the age of four. When he first saw the brown hair, grey eyed wild child. Who ran up to him and tackled him before handing over a red Popsicle.

"Friends?" she asked. A bruise on her cheek and a scrape on her chin. Nate looked at the red Popsicle which was starting to melt, spilling red liquid everywhere. He simply pushed her off of him, grabbed the Popsicle and ran inside his new home. He watched her from the living room window. He saw her get up, brush herself off and run to a man who handed her another Popsicle. He watched the man smile down at her while she shrugged and went back to dancing on her lawn. As if the whole thing never happened and she didn't have a care in the world. He sat there at that window and watched her dance. He is amazed by the brown hair, grey eyed wild child, in a loose white dress and a crown of daisies on her head.

He also knew they weren't friends when he pushed her into the mud when they were at the park a few months later. When he saw her playing with a little boy with blond curly hair and green eyes. Jealousy got the best of him and the last thing he remembered was her in the mud, crying. He felt sad for her. He wanted to tell her that he wanted her to play with him, not with the other boy. But he never got a chance because the parents showed up and Natalie had to explain to them that she tripped. It was the first time she had lied and covered for him, at it wasn't the last.

He did know that they became friends shortly after kindergarten. When she stalked right up to Joshua Something and punched him in the face because Josh had taken Nate's ding dong. He remember watching her push pass the other kids and right up to Joshua's face and then POW! Right in the face. They been friends ever since. Close friends. The kind of friends that did everything together. They camped at each other's houses, took swimming lessons together. If Nat got hurt then so did Nate. That was another thing too; they were so close that everyone said their names as if it were one: NateNat.

He also remembers why they didn't speak anymore. How, in ninth grade, he blew right passed Natalie and into a shiny red convertible that belonged to Holly Johnson. Without a warning he just stopped talking to her. But he figured she didn't care. She didn't yell for him, didn't call him and asked what was wrong. She just let him go and he watched as she let him.

But now it was senior year. He was captain of the football team and class president and yada yada ya. The golden boy dating the head cheerleader. And he hated every minute of it. Hated the attention, but loved football. Hated school but wanted to make sure the school was doing all it could to provide good crap for the students. He went through the motions of the everyday life of a high school student.

So when fifth period English started, he pulled out his notebook and pen, listening to the teacher explaining the class syllabus and ignoring the commotion that just started at the front of the class.

"I'm so fuggin sorry, um," that's when Nate looked up and saw her. The brown hair grey eyed wild child. He watched and she looked for her class schedule and when she found it, he watched as she struggles with something. He always knew when Natalie was struggling. Her forehead would pucker, her eyes would squint and she started chewing on her bottom lip. "Mr. Gross?" she asked, and was oblivious when the class burst into hysterics.

"It's Mr. Grosse," the teacher said. "Pronounced Grow-Say."

"Oh, right. So where do I sit?" she asks, once again oblivious to the fact that Mr. Grosse was frustrated. How she didn't realize Nate didn't know. Mr. Grosse's face bright red, from embarrassment or anger Nate couldn't tell.

"Take a seat next to Mr. Fox," he paused as he looked at her schedule. "Ms. Madison." He huffed.

"Please," Nat said. "Call me Natalie." Then she walked right passed him and plopped herself into the seat next to me. "Jeez man, is school going to get any easier?" She asks, looking Nate straight in the face. And Nate remembers that face, remembers her eyes that are so gray they almost look metallic. "I mean, six periods for four years for like one hundred and something school days." She doesn't realize that Nate is staring at her, doesn't realize that he's shocked. That after three years of not speaking this is the first thing she says to him. Not in anger and not sarcastically but seriously. She is seriously wondering why they have to go to school like this. But then Natalie shrugs and says, "Well, at least its second semester. Only four more months." She pulls her notebook out of her backpack that was gray at one time but is now covered in doodles and writing. Some are reminders and others are notes to other people. "Go out with me, Nat."-Jeff. "As if she'd go for you." –Rose. Who these people were he didn't know, but he was curious and before he knew it, the bell rang. Signaling the end of class and the beginning of lunch.

They both left the classroom at the same time. Nate watched as a boy with curly blond hair and green eyes ran up to Natalie and pulled her hoodie so far over her head that she almost trips.

"I can see you're fucking shoes Jeffrey," she says, but not in anger. She's amused and now she laughing and chasing Jeffrey to their table. The table that Nate knew was hers and that some part of him wanted to be a part of.

"Hey babe," says a voice in Nathans ears. A voice that's been getting on his nerves lately. "What you looking at?" Holly Johnson steps in front of Nathan and smiles at him before kissing him.

"No one, I mean, nothing," he says when she pulls back. He smiles at her and takes her hand before walking across the cafeteria to his table. Passing Natalie's table.

"Hey freaks." Holly sneers.

"Careful Hell," Natalie says, purposely. "Before I have Rose get me a pair of your underwear and we hang them up the schools flag pole."

"You bitch!" Holly sneers.

"Careful Holly," says another girl that Nathan recognizes and Rocio, Holly's cousin. "She knows the janitor." They laugh as Holly gives them the finger and storms off in search of her best friend Jamie.

"I'm sorry." Nathan says, trying to apologize.

"No dude," says the guy named Jeffrey. "We're sorry." Nathan looks confused.

"Sorry that you have to kiss her!" says Alex, one of the members of the varsity football team.

"Ohhh!" They all start cheering and laughing and barking- literally, Alex starts to bark.

"And I'm sorry for their behavior." Says Natalie. "They forgot to take their medication."

"I'll show you…" starts Jeff before lifting Natalie over his shoulder and running off. The rest of her friends grabbing their bags and trailing right behind. _No doubt they'll skip sixth period,_ Nathan thinks. They always skip sixth. And Nathan is left standing there chuckling at their behavior wondering if that's what real friends are like.

"Nathan!" Nathan winces and he hears Holly yelling for him like he's some kind of dog. Nathan turns. "Are you done?" She says with attitude. And Nathan walks up to Holly, kisses her cheek to calm her down and sits at the table that's his. The table where the jocks sit with the cheerleaders, but he's ignoring the talk and discussion. His mind is on the brown hair, grey eyed wild child.


	2. Chapter 2

"You're wearing that to school?" Natalie cringed at the sound of her mother's tone. She turned away from the front door at studied herself from feet on up. Green and Orange Chucks on her feet, blue lace on the left orange shoe and yellow lace on the right green. Red socks on her left feet and purple on the right. Green shorts over orange tights and a tie dyed shirt with a smiley face. Oh, and a bright green tie that pictured Goofy and his signature smile.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" she sighed, regretting the question. It was the same routine over the years.

"You're a senior now." Her mother said and Nat had to fight the urge to roll her eyes. _Not this lecture again, _thought Nat. "Dress up is for toddlers. You have a future to think about-"

"And nobody is going to take you seriously." Natalie finished. Her mother sighed and Natalie took the opportunity to analyze her mom. Her mom had been tired since Natalie fathers passed. It happened when Nat was sixteen but felt like yesterday. Her mom went through a heavy depression and had barely now, two years later, started to get out of bed at a good time in the morning. Her mother's therapist had told Natalie that it was a small step but Natalie had seen it as a big one. Her mother was thin, not natural but not sickly either, she had bags under her eyes that not even sleep will take away.

"I just want you to have a good senior year, to be happy," her mother said with a small smile.

"I am happy mom." Natalie said. _You've just been too tired to see it. _"Besides," _Dad loved the way I dressed, _"I got to run or I'm going to be late for school." Natalie waved goodbye to her mom and turned to leave. At the last minute she thought better, turned, and gave her mother a hug and a kiss, and danced out the door.

"Nice moves Tiny," said Jeffrey as he leaned out the passenger window or Rocio's car, allowing Nat to give his cheek a peck. Natalie had gotten used to the nickname that Jeff had given her the day they actually started kickin' it. Natalie stood at five feet tall, not an inch shorter, nor an inch taller, and

"Thank you." Natalie thanked him along with a curtsey.

"You should totally join the squad," said Rocio, as she pulled away from the curb. "You would totally rock it." Rocio made eye contact through the rear view mirror, in which she was using to apply her mascara, making her blue eyes stand out more. Natalie leaned over and gave her a kiss.

"Holly would love that." Nat said.

"Yeah, to death," said Jeff. "Literally, she'd die!" He laughed, which made Nat laugh.

"And she'd totally kill you," said Rocio, who was now applying her blush. "I mean, that would only get Nathans attention."

"And we all know how much she would love that," said Nat.

"She still hates that fact that you guys were friends," said Rose, fixing her long blond hair. The blond hair and blue eyes are the only proof that Holly and she are related. "She still talks about it at family functions that she drags Nate to. Poor Nate, he looks like a dog when he's with her."

"Yeah," Jeff agrees. "Always standing there and waiting for her next demand."

Natalie shrugs. "Holly's a bitch, what more can you expect?"

"A black heart is all she has and hatred is all she knows," said Jeff, making Natalie laugh.

"What's so funny?" Alex says, shoving his head through the window by Nat's seat, scaring her so bad that she falls onto the floor, which only makes everyone else laugh. Nat hadn't even noticed that they had arrived at Alex's house as she scoots over to make room for Alex and Lauren.

"Holly," Natalie says as she leans over to give both Alex and Lauren a kiss.

"Oh," Alex says.

"Of course that's who you were laughing at," says Lauren. "The question is, why?"

"Nat on the squad," explains Jeff. "And stealing Nates attention."

"Again," says Rose.

"Again?" Everyone asks in unison, their head snapping towards Rocio's seat.

"Yeah," Rose shrugs. "I mean, did anyone else see the way he was looking at Natalie yesterday at lunch. Like she was some of kind of…" she trails off.

"Freak?" Jeff asks.

"Like she had a zit the size of mars?" Alex asks, earning a pinch from Lauren.

"Like she was a wild flower in a garden full of roses?" Laurens asks.

"Yes!" Rose says, snapping her fingers. "That is exactly the way he was staring."

"Gee, thanks." Laughs Nat.

"Was that meant to be a compliment?" Jeff asks.

"No," Rose says, pulling into the school parking lot. "I mean, he looked like a boy who found…"

"His dog?" Jeff asks.

"His mind?" Alex asks.

"No!" Snaps Rose, obviously frustrated by the way the boys were behaving. "After years of knowing you guys, you'd think I'd be used to your behavior by now." She turns towards Nat. "He looked like he finally found a real friend."

"I am a real friend." Says Nat, watching as Jeff leans toward her and pinches her arm, laughing when she's yells.

"Yeah, she's real alright." Says Jeff, as he dodges the slap that Nat tried to place on his arm.

"Jerk! That hurt!" Nat says, but she's not mad. Nat is never mad. Some people mistook her kindness for weakness, not knowing that if they crossed her the wrong way they'd be in for a surprise.

"Speaking of the devil," says Lauren, nodding towards Hollys red convertible.

"No, were speaking about Nathan," says Alex, and Rocio punches Alex is the arm because she's at the end of her rope.

Natalie turns her head in time to catch Nathan staring at her. She lifts her hand and waves with a big smile on her face, being friendly. But she doesn't stick around long enough to see Nathan jump in surprise and before she gets a chance to see what happens, whether he waves back or not, the first bell rings and she's off to class with Alex and Jeff.


End file.
